When you’re at work, stress and focus are often very closely related. Too much stress? You probably aren’t focusing very well. Intently focused on your work? You probably aren’t very stressed, or are very good at blocking stress out. 

If you’re wondering how to reduce stress and increase concentration, know that one will often feed into the other. We have a couple of neat tricks up our sleeves to make it easier for you to accomplish both, including managing one common culprit that can be blamed for a lot of office stress.

Email Management to Reduce Stress and Increase Focus

That’s right, email is the common culprit! According to a 2012 study from the University of California Irvine, “being cut off from work email significantly reduces stress and allows employees to focus far better.” Without email, employees were less likely to attempt to multitask, more likely to move around and communicate with co-workers during the day, and happier as they worked.

Another interesting finding: workers who weren’t allowed to check their email for five days worked with a lower average heart rate throughout the day. A high resting heart rate is a common precursor for stress, and multitasking often means working and focusing less effectively.

Is removing email from your job a reality, however? No. In terms of how to reduce stress and increase concentration, however, even reducing your email use can make a huge difference. 

One simple solution: try scheduling your email hours so that you are going through all your new messages at once and then moving on to something else. If you can avoid making email a constant part of your day, you should! 

The viability of these strategies will vary from workplace to workplace. One strategy that doesn’t vary is using our smart compression technology: a non-invasive, easy-to-use wearable sleeve that naturally reduces your stress and increases concentration as it is worn!

The earlier study was published in 2012, but this problem has likely only gotten worse when you take into account the spread of smartphones and the 24-hour access to email and other communications tools. 

The study’s lessons about stress and focus are still heavily relevant in today’s workplaces, because anything that splits our attention is likely to weaken it. By trying to manage your time—and wearing smart compression as you do—you can reduce stress, improve your focus, and boost your productivity in a positive and meaningful way.